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Thomas Cook India reveals the finest places to explore on the 3 long weekends in April

Thomas Cook India has observed significant trends of explorers preferring short hauls during long weekend.

Thomas Cook India reveals that Indian travellers have made a shift from single annual vacation to shorter and more frequent trips within India and international destinations. With three long weekends in April, this peak booking season gives our customers a to break the monotony and use travel to escape the stresses of daily life. While 2016 saw public holidays falling on a Sunday, Thomas Cook India reveals that April offers the promise of strong weekend getaways without taking time off work. Thomas Cook India has observed significant trends of explorers preferring short hauls during long weekend; here are some of the significant trends:

  • Our data indicates: 45% of our customers prefer domestic holidays while 55% prefer international short haul destinations
  • Most Indian travellers tend to book weekend international holidays at least 30 days in advance. Last minute bookers (less than 20days prior) account for 30% of the Company’s travellers. A 50:50 split was observed for domestic travel
  • Travellers are also showing interest in travelling to locations like Odisha; attracting a growing number of tourists (about 10-15%) favouring places like Puri, Konark and Chilika for a delightful weekend getaway.
  • New-age travellers are making the most of the opportunities available to them to explore different locales and engage in non-traditional experiences. For eg: Azerbaijan and Georgia kite surfing in the Philippines, whale watching in the Reunion Islands/Sri Lanka.
  • Spa & Wellness packages are seeing growing demand – a clear indication that long weekends are being used by India’s work weary warriors to de-stress, relax, rejuvenate—recharge their batteries!
  • Observed a surge in weekend bookings: of over 35% (international) and 50% (domestic) as compared to last year (2016 vs. 2017)
  • Maximum number of travelers during long weekends has been observed from Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. In addition: Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad growing strongly
  • ‘Domestic Getaways’ exploring outdoors in Uttarakhand or exploring the serene landscapes of Himachal in the North, Nagaland in the East/North-east, Koidaikanal or Kerala for Ayurveda in the South or Mount Abu in the West is a great idea for working millennials to rejuvenate and refresh.
  • Short haul international destinations are growing in popularity for long weekends, given easy access with under 5 hours of air travel. Increased connectivity-penetration, attractive airfares/discounts, and entry of Low Cost Carriers have added impetus to the long weekend growth story. Strong interest for favourites like Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bali
  • Visa-on-arrival destinations offer scope for quick getaways, sans the stress of organizing visas e.g: Thailand, Seychelles, Reunion Islands, Bali, Jordan, Maldives, Mauritius, Macau, Hong Kong, Dubai.
  • Destinations like Singapore smartly offer long term multi entry visas of 2 years, and this gives the quintessential value-conscious Indians the ability to maximize the visa cost with repeat trips to Singapore
  • With airlines launching fresh new destinations, Indians now have a great range of new options to choose from (Air Arabia to Baku, Georgia and Garuda to Jakarta; equally new attractions and sightseeing options like Dubai Parks & Resorts – with a Bollywood themed park) adding further allure to weekend/long weekend travel.
  • New emerging destinations for long/extended weekends: Greece, Philippines, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Macau, Jordan, Croatia, Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kenya, Cambodia-Vietnam-Laos.
  • Increased demand seen in 2017 from Mini-Metros and Tier 2: up by 25%. Enhanced airline network-connectivity and Online services from Regional India fuelling demand. This has resulted in the strong emergence of language-specific tours catering to Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Bengali customers.

Preferred destinations from each of these cities:

  • Bengaluru: Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Dubai
  • Delhi: Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Maldives
  • Mumbai: Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong-Macau, Bali
    35% overall growth in International Online bookings YTD vs 2016
    40% growth in Domestic Online bookings YOY

Photo caption: Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head Leisure Travel & M.I.C.E at Thomas Cook (India) Limited

 

Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Articles

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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